1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus comprising recording means which is reciprocatable for recording an image and including a plurality of recorders each of which is provided for a color to be recorded.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Reciprocative scan system has been considered to be an effective measure which permits recording apparatuses such as ink-jet type printers, thermal transfer type printers and the like to operate at higher speed. It has been further considered that the reciprocative scan system can eliminate any vibration in a carriage at reversal and also control the speed of a motor for driving the carriage in a more uncomplicated manner since the carriage is always reciprocated at the same speed.
However, the reciprocative scan system will have the following disadvantage if it is applied to such a prior art recording apparatus that includes a plurality of recording heads each provided for a color to be recorded and located side by side in the primary scan direction, that is, in such a direction that the carriage is reciprocated. In this case, the recording operation would be carried out with colored inks overlapped in the wrong order during the return movement of the carriage. For example, assuming that a recording operation is effected with colored inks of yellow, magenta, cyan and black (hereinafter referred respectively to Y, M, C and BK) in this order in the forward movement of the carriage as shown in FIG. 1A, the colored inks would be used in the reverse order of BK, C, M and Y in the return movement of the carriage as shown in FIG. 1B. Consequently, an area to be originally recorded with the same color will be recorded with different colored inks during the reciprocative movement of the carriage. In other words, if the colored inks are placed one over another on a recording paper 1 with the order of Y, M and C in the forward movement of the carriage as shown in FIG. 2A, the order would be reversed to be C, M and Y in the return movement of the carriage as shown in FIG. 2B. Therefore, the color C is emphasized during the forward movement of the carriage while the color Y is emphasized in the return movement of the same. This produces a difference in color tone in the secondary scan direction (paper-feed direction) to provide an obscure image.